Australian defense and civilian personnel will receive further nuclear reactor training in the United Kingdom in support of Canberra’s nuclear-powered submarine project under the AUKUS trilateral security partnership.
U.K. Defence Secretary John Healey, who issued the announcement after a meeting with his AUKUS counterparts in London on Thursday, emphasized the importance of partnerships amid increasing global threats.
“Our government will stand shoulder to shoulder with our Australian and U.S. partners, with new UK leadership in AUKUS and a commitment to boost jobs and growth,” the defense chief said.
Royal Navy engineers concluded in early September the upskilling of 250 Australians in submarine nuclear reactor operations. In August, Australian personnel participated in maintaining USS Hawaii, a nuclear attack submarine, Australia’s first time to host maintenance for such a U.S. warship class.
Meanwhile, over 60 Royal Australian Navy personnel are undergoing training aboard U.S. Virginia-class nuclear submarines set for RAN’s acquisition starting in the early 2030s, a number that would increase further in 2025 to more than 100 personnel, according to an AUKUS press statement.
In another exercise, the USS Emory S. Land, a U.S. Navy submarine tender with a mixed crew of American and Australian sailors, docked at HMAS Stirling to support the host country’s nuclear submarine development program.
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